Harry Potter and the New Girl
by Lainey
Summary: A glitch in the system has caused several letters to arrive late to their intended recipients. About 5 years late. What will life be like at Hogwarts for these students who are years behind everyone else? Follows our main character, Nadhari, as she lea
1. Nadhari

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Harry Potter and the New Girl

Chapter One: Nadhari

"Nadhari, what are you doing?" Nadhari heard her mother call.

"Nothing," she quickly responded. Just in case, she shoved her wand under her pillow and picked up her book. She began to read just as her mother walked in.

"Didn't I tell you not to do magic in the house?" the woman asked.

"What? I'm just reading," the teenager said, waving the book around for emphasis. 

"Nadhari, please? I'm not happy about letting you go off to this school, so can you at least not play around in the house?" her mother asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Fine, fine," Nadhari said. "I'm going for a walk, okay?"

"Stay out of trouble." Her mother turned to walk out, but turned back. "And don't let anyone see that wand of yours."

"Okay mom," Nadhari set her book on the bedside table, retrieved her magic wand from under her pillow, and went outside. She walked through the field behind her house until she reached a line of trees the line of trees. There, in a shadowy niche between some firs, she sat down in an old lawn chair. She took out the wand she had gotten about a week or so ago, on a trip to Diagon Alley. It had been her first taste of the wizarding world.

She knew she wouldn't actually be learning summoning charms until her third or fourth year, but hey, what could it hurt to try, especially since she _should_ be a fifth year. She picked up the book she'd brought with her and opened to the page she'd marked. It was a book of common spells that she had thought looked interesting in Diagon Alley, especially when the book had literally asked her to buy it. 

She examined her wand under the filtered sunlight that came through the trees. She could hear Ollivander's voice in her head. _'Ah, it seems we have found you a match,' _the wizard had said, smiling. _'Eleven inches, core of-ah! How interesting!' _The owner of the wand shop had turned the mahogany colored wand over and over, around and around. The ice-eyed girl had not been able to control her curiosity. _'Please, Mr. Ollivander, what is so interesting? What is the core of my wand made of?'_ He had turned to her with a smile on his wizened old face, and replied, _'Why, my dear, nothing. Nothing at all.'_

A bark brought Nadhari back to the present. As she shook from her trance, she saw it was only Moose, her neighbor's dog. The brown and white monstrosity stared at her, tail wagging its whole body, looking for all the world like a puppy four times too big. He looked as if he was waiting for her to throw the wand so he could fetch it. "Go away, Moose!" she yelled. The dog obliged, trotting off looking only mildly disappointed.

Nadhari chose a large maple leaf that had fallen about 10 or 15 feet away. _"Accio!" _she cried, pointing with her wand. The leaf shifted slightly, though it could just as easily been the wind as Nadhari's magical command. She smiled . Concentrating harder, she again spoke the spell. This time the leaf flew over and landed neatly on her lap. By all logic, someone such as she, with no magical training at all shouldn't be able to do anything near as complicated as a summoning charm. _Must be the wand,_ she decided. As she and her wand got more comfortable with each other, the girl found she could do increasingly more difficult tasks. This was, of course, in large part to her wand, to the special stuff of which it was made.

Nadhari stood and walked through some more trees until she reached the canal. Balancing, she walked toe-to-heel across the two-by-four and leaped down into the grass on the other side. She crossed the street to the small lake. She sat down on a large rock, staring out over the water. Only four days until she flew to England, and one day after that until she boarded the Hogwarts Express.

A/N: So, what do you think? I have several more chapters done, it's all a matter of do I feel like typing them or not. If you would like to see this continued, tell me. If you don't you could review anyways.

And I would like to thank my beta reader, Yael, for her help on this. Thanx ^__^

Disclaimer: I own only the people you don't recognize, the rest are the wonderful property of J.K. Rowling.


	2. Illuminati

**Harry Potter and the New Girl******

Chapter Two: Illuminati 

"Hallo.  My name is Laura Madley," a long-haired girl said.  "I'm going to be a second year.  I don't think I've seen you before.  What year are you?" She stood leaning against a large stone pillar.She stood leaning  

_And why should you have? Nadhari thought, looking around King's Cross.  Then she noticed the trunk the girl had, along with the barn owl caged atop it.  __She must be going to Hogwarts too.  Oh, right, she said she's a second year._

"I'm a first year.  My name's Nadhari," she smiled and held out her hand.

Ili, however, did not notice.  Her mouth dropped open.  "You're American!" she exclaimed.

Nadhari dropped her hand back down awkwardly.  "Yeah, and you're British[B1] ," she replied.

The other girl shook her head slightly.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to be rude, it's just that I don't meet many Americans, and I don't know of any who go to Hogwarts."

"It's all right.  So," she said, glancing nervously at the cement divider, "how do we do this?"

"Oh, it's really quite simple," Laura began in her heavily accented voice, "you just walk straight at it.  Sometimes, if you're nervous, it helps to run.  Would you like to go first, or would you like to watch me?"

"May as well get it over with," Nadhari replied, swishing her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.  She took a deep breath, pushed her trunk until it was between her and the wall, and took off running.  As the solid barrier loomed closer, she closed her eyes.  When it seemed she had had enough time to pass through, she opened her eyes and stopped moving—just in time to avoid falling off the platform onto the track.  As she came to an abrupt halt, her things tumbled from their places, spreading out around the platform.  Hearing someone snickering, she turned to discover a pair of bright, green eyes, looking back at hers from behind a pair of glasses.  The dark-haired boy that belonged to them was around her own age, and was trying not to laugh. 

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

The boy could only shake his head, hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

"Well, as long as you're gonna sit there laughing your ass off, you can at least come gather my things," she snapped, placing her hands on her hips briefly before kneeling to collect her fallen possessions.

The boy seemed to recover himself, though he was still grinning like an idiot.  "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but it really was rather funny.  You just came running through the wall, and your cat went flying."  He pointed in the direction of the train.

Nadhari's eyes went wide.  "Illuminati!" she cried, jumping up and running forward to peer onto the track.  A ball of orange fluff crouched in terror under the scarlet train.  "Illuminati," she cooed, "come out, honey."

The boy let out another laugh, but silenced himself at the withering glance he received from Nadhari.  "You named your cat after some evil, secret, mythological organization?"

"Yes, and I'm very attached to her.  Help me get her out."  She glared down the boy until he sobered up and knelt down next to her.

"Sorry again.  Fine.  I'll help."  He took a wand out from somewhere in his ratty, muggle clothing and pointed it at the cat.  _"Accio…" at which point he dissolved in another fit of laughter.  Through his gasping for air, he managed to say, __"Accio Illuminati!"  The fluffy orange cat flew into the boy's outstretched arms._

"Here's Illu-Illu—here's your cat," he said, handing over the feline.

"Thank you."

"By the way," he said as they both stood, Nadhari cuddling her cat, " what's your name?"

"Nadhari Sylvar," she replied.  "What's yours?"

The boy seemed taken aback, as though not at all expecting the question.  After a moment of stunned silence, he asked, "Really?"  He looked very pleased with the idea, and a grin came to his face, those startlingly green eyes lighting up.  "You're really asking my name?"  

"You'd better hurry up or I'm getting on the train without knowing," she said impatiently, mistaking his happiness for him patronizing her.  She could tell she was missing something that seemed quite obvious to everyone else, and did not feel like investing her time in feeling stupid.

The British boy smiled, and held out his hand for her to shake.  In what seemed a perfectly casual gesture, he brushed the hair off his forehead while saying, "Harry Potter."

A/N: Chapter two done!  Yay!  Three is almost ready.  Hope you like!

Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Yael.

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PAGE \# "'Page: '#'  
'"  [B1]Hey, look, I figured it out for myself! Anyways, since you have been learning British English, and I speak American English, I would gladly accept ant suggestions on what the characters are saying.  Not on spelling, but on speech.  Thanks.  Also, what I just remembered, about chapter one, Hermione, in the first book said that she'd tried some minor spells and stuff before getting on the train.  And while on the train, she, Ron and maybe Harry tried some magic, so I don't think the MOM would make a special case for Nadhari.  Ooh!  Have you seen the movie?  I saw it Wednesday and it was really good.

Y: You're absolutely right about Hermione using magic before school. Hmmm… I wonder…

I can try to help you with the Brit-speak, but I'm afraid I don't speak English at all, so dialogues are certainly not my forte. I can still try to help you with the terminology.


	3. First Years' First Day

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Harry Potter and the New Girl

Chapter Three: First Years' First Day

"Welcome to Gryffindor common room," the bushy-haired girl stated, making an arm gesture that encompassed the whole room. "I am Hermione Granger and I am one of your prefects. The password now is 'Aconite.' If you forget it, come to one of the prefects. In the past, the boys' dormitories were up one staircase and the girls' the other. Because of an accident this summer involving a certain flying car, both wings were destroyed. Rooms were rebuilt, but only seven, one for each year, co-ed." She paused to let the murmuring die down. "However, if it doesn't work out, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall have assured me that they will not hesitate to have separate wings rebuilt."

A small auburn-haired girl raised her hand. "Excuse me. Why would they make the dorms co-ed?" She acted timid, probably a first year.

Hermione smiled, but not indulgently. "Because there traditionally haven't been problems between the male and female students. Also, the professors thought it might help the houses unify and become better friends." There was more talking among the students, and again Hermione waited it out. "Now, first years, stay here with me. The rest of you may go up either staircase; they both lead to one hallway. The doors are clearly marked."

A rush of students filed up either staircase, the sound of accented chatter filling the room. When the second through seventh years were gone, the remaining students were strangely silent. They hadn't had much time to make friends yet. In fact, Nadhari hadn't met anyone besides Ili and—she still couldn't believe it—Harry Potter. She was looking forward to making friends with her fellow students, even though being American set her apart from everyone right from the start.

"Hallo," said a girl next to her. "My name's Brynna. What's yours?"

"Nadhari," the blonde replied, preparing for the customary reaction. It didn't come, however.

"So, why aren't you up in your room?" Brynna asked, brushing her scraggly, black hair back over her shoulders.

It took Nadhari a moment to realize why she was asking. "Oh, I'm a first year. I'm also 16. It's kind of a long story."

"Oh, okay." Neither Nadhari's age nor nationality seemed to bother her, which seemed like a good start at Hogwarts. She thought she'd try her luck with someone else, as Brynna had turned to the girl on her other side.

Turning to the boy on her right, she said, "Hi, my name is Nadhari, what's yours?"

He turned toward her, strangely intense black eyes searching her face. He had spiked hair; the tips frosted and seemed as if he would be cool, among other 11-year-old friends. "My name's Parker," he said calmly, reaching out to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you." After a quiet moment, he asked, "So, were you overlooked over in America? Given a belated invitation to become a witch?" 

His dark eyes unnerved her, but she nodded and refused to look away. It was hard to see anything but those dark, unwaivering eyes in the dim light from the fire. "You too." It could have been a question, but it wasn't, and she didn't mistake it for one by answering, though it confues her.

"I was muggle-born, and my family moved to California when I was 10. We moved back to England three months ago. I got my letter one month ago. I'm 16," he stated, an odd sense of depth reflecting in his eyes. 

"You don't look 16," she replied, a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "You look like the rest of the first years."

"I look young for my age."

"Whatever. Besides, I thought they weren't supposed to make mistakes like this."

"You aren't the same as me," he said, "and I know it. Besides, no one's perfect. Shall we go?" He gestured to the other first years, who were following Hermione up the staircase on the left. When they'd all gathered in the room marked with a large, golden '1,' Hermione began to talk again.

"Your things are beside a bed already. The boys are on this side, and the girls are on this side. Feel free to trade with someone else, as long as you're on the right side, but after tonight you won't be allowed to move," Hermione said. "Goodnight."

Nadhari began to unpack her things, setting the soft, thick blankets on her four-poster.

"Would you like to trade me beds?" a soft voice said somewhere behind her, but she ignored it because it wasn't addressed to her.

"Sure," another voice answered the first. 

There was a sound of trunks moving and then the first voice said, "Hey." 

Nadhari turned around since it was now directed to her. Parker sat in the four-poster next to hers. "Hi," she replied. Whoever belonged to the second voice had left; Parker sat alone. 

"So," the boy stated quietly, "tell me your story. I've heard Hogwarts doesn't get many Americans, unless they're special, of course."

"Well, if I'm special, no ones' told me about it." A thought crossed her mind. "Well, you know, except for my…" she trailed off as she seemed to decide against finishing.

Of course Parker wasn't going to just let it drop. "Except your what?"

"My wand," she replied, avoiding eye contact, trying to shrug it off as unimportant. Not that it worked, or anything

"What about it?" he asked, looking genuinely curious.

__

Well, at least he isn't going to give me the third degree. She relaxed some. "It's coreless." She smiled as she got the desired effect. The intense-eyed boy's mouth dropped open and he let out a kind of squeak.

"You mean it was…?"

Nadhari smiled again and nodded. It felt good to catch this seemingly unshakable boy off guard.

"Wow. That's so cool. And that wand chose you? No wonder they brought you all the way from America to Hogwarts." Parker looked genuinely impressed.

Nadhari shook her head. "But I didn't have it when I got my letter." She drew her wand out of her robes and looked it over. 

"Good point," he nodded. "Maybe there's something else about you." He examined her hand wand as she held it out for him. He handed it back after a moment.

A thought crossed Nadhari's face. "Being in another place shouldn't make any difference to the owls. They find you wherever you are. That's just the way it works. So why weren't we found? Why are we the exceptions?" She gave him a look of worried confusion, which he could only answer with silence.

A/N: Chapter three, the mystery unfolds. R/R!!

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